


If It's Love

by greendalecoolcat



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 06:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8834851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greendalecoolcat/pseuds/greendalecoolcat
Summary: Five times Jeff told Annie that he loves her.





	1. While she was sleeping

It was after midnight when Jeff got home. He had to attend a conference in Santa Fe for the day, but he planned to drive back to Greendale rather than stay overnight. If he was still in his pre-Greendale-fake-degree lawyer days, he would have loved to stay overnight in a new city. But now that he evolved into an honest man in a relationship with the love of his life, the only place he wanted to be was at home with her.

So when he received the text from Annie telling him she tried, but couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer, he was disappointed, but it all vanished when he walked through the door. Waiting for him on the side table by the door was a purple post-it note with Annie’s delicate writing:

_Welcome home! Sorry I didn’t wait up. There’s leftover chicken in the fridge xoxo_

He smiled at the note and headed to the kitchen to grab a water bottle before heading to bed. He stopped when he got to the fridge because on the counter was a page of the newspaper laid out with another purple note on top:

_Interesting article on page 4! Thought of you xoxo_

A warm sensation filled Jeff’s chest and he had to swallow the swell of emotion that was caught in his throat. He’s never been in a relationship like this before. He never had someone who remembered the small things about his life or his interests. He’d always just been a body to sleep with at night. But ever since he started this thing with Annie, he learned what it was like to share his life with someone. He’d always known Annie was different, but seeing these constant reminders still amazed him. He was so lucky.

After he pulled himself together, he headed to the bedroom and saw Annie curled up underneath the covers. Her papers were still strewn across the bed and it was obvious that she fell asleep while finishing up her work. It’s not the first time Jeff went into the bedroom to find her in a deep sleep with her laptop left open and notepad clutched to her chest.

He walked over to the bed and gathered her papers into a pile and placed them on the night stand and flipped off her bedside lamp. Her hair was covering her face so Jeff gently pushed it behind her ear. He couldn’t help but lean down to place a kiss on her jaw. When she didn’t stir awake, he made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change into a t-shirt and sweats.

He’d been waiting all day for this moment, the moment he’d finally climb into bed and curl up with Annie. She may have been asleep but just having her in his arms would be enough. So he sighed contently as he wrapped his arms around her and it was easily the best thing he’s felt in the past 24 hours.

He was completely ready to fall asleep when Annie stretched, clearly woken up by his embrace. She turned in his arms and smiled at him with sleepy eyes, “You’re home.”

He smiled back at her. “I’m home.”

They watched each other for a few moments before she yawned and began to drift back to sleep. “Hmm,” she sighed.  “Missed you.” She snuggled in closer.

“I missed you too,” he said into her hair.

It was true, he missed her, but he what he was feeling was so much more.

“Hey,” he whispered, but she was already asleep. “I love you.”


	2. When she was sad

Recently, Annie had been trying to repair her relationship with her mother. After exchanging a few preliminary emails, they decided they were ready to actually talk on the phone. The first two attempts were short conversations, just discussing the basics--- Work, the weather… yeah that’s about it.

The next few calls became a bit more personal. They talked about the last eight years and filled each other in on their lives. That’s when things started to get heavy. Jeff would often find Annie cooking dinner with a wistful look on her face. Sometimes he’d find her angrily typing away at her laptop in attempt to get work done. And sometimes, she would hang up the phone and quickly wipe a tear away from her face.

Jeff always gave Annie space when she had her phone calls with her mom. He knew it was important to her to repair their relationship so he never wanted to get in the way. He didn’t have the best experience with repairing family ties, so he wanted it to be different for her. But whenever their conversations ended with Annie wiping away tears, Jeff was there to give her a warm hug, or a kiss on the cheek.

This time however, Annie and her mom were really having at it. Jeff kept himself cooped up in the bedroom while she paced the apartment, having a heated argument with her mom. He wasn’t sure exactly what they were arguing about but he could hear snip-its over the TV and through the closed door.

_“We can’t really afford a house right now, mom. But that’s none of your business anyway.”_

_…_

_“Yeah, I know. You’ve told me multiple times. But I’m proud of what we have and I don’t care how long it takes to‒”_

_…_

_“Of course he has a job!”_

_…_

_“Wow, it’s great to know you have so much faith in your twenty-six-year-old daughter. Somethings never change, huh?”_

_…_

_“Look, I can’t do this right now. I’ll talk to you soon, mom…yeah. Bye.”_

Jeff heard her voice break before she ended the call. God, he hated Annie’s mother. He waited a few minutes before getting up to find Annie, but before he could, the bedroom door opened and a tearful Annie walked through.

She didn’t say anything as she climbed onto the bed and over to where Jeff was sitting up against the pillows. She wordlessly leaned against his chest and wrapped his arms around herself. He let her get comfortable before he tightened his hold on her. She didn’t say anything, so he leaned in to kiss her temple.

They didn’t speak as they watched Gordon Ramsey berate people on the television. At one point though, Jeff heard Annie sniffle, so he rested his head against hers.

“You don’t need her approval,” he said softly.

“I know,” she responded, still sounding defeated.

He leaned down to kiss her cheek once more. “I love you.”

They stayed wrapped up in each other for a while. For the moment, it was enough.


	3. When it was her birthday

It was mid-morning and Jeff was on his side of the bed scrolling through his twitter feed. It was Annie’s birthday and he had a few things planned. He’d make her breakfast, take her to a bookstore over in Denver, and then out to dinner at her favorite restaurant. They would be celebrating Christmas and Hanukah a few days, so she didn’t want a big fuss for her birthday.

Jeff was fine with keeping things lowkey, but that didn’t mean he would disappoint.

So as soon as it turned ten o’clock, Jeff set aside his phone and hovered over her sleeping form. Her hair was strewn across her pillow and her t-shirt was bunched up and Jeff found the whole scene to be utterly adorable. So he leaned in to kiss her cheek. And then her nose. And her chin. And her jaw and under her ear.

“Mmm,” she stirred with her eyes still closed. “Jeff,” she breathed. “What’s happenin’?”

Jeff continued his journey without hesitation. He kissed down her neck, over the fabric of her shirt, and onto the exposed skin of her stomach.

By then she was fully awake and she ran her hand through his bedhead. She giggled at the stubble that tickled her torso. “What are you doing?”

“I’m counting,” he mumbled against her skin.

“Counting?”

“Mhmm.” He trailed more kisses up her body until he was hovering over her again. He kissed her nose. “Twenty-four.” And then her cheek. “Twenty-five.” And then finally her lips. “Twenty-six.” He smirked at her when he pulled away.

Annie was beaming at him. “Twenty-six kisses for twenty-six years?”

“You’re too smart for me.”

“How about one for good luck?”

“As you wish,” he leaned in to kiss her once more. It wasn’t as chaste as the previous twenty-six and Annie hummed appreciatively as his mouth opened over hers.

When he pulled away, her smile reached her eyes and she ran her hands over his bare back. “You’re sweet. Maybe I should remember this for your next birthday…although it might take me a while.”

Jeff scoffed at her, “Ouch! I’m only letting that slide because it’s your birthday. You’re lucky I still love you after that.” He was stern but he couldn’t help but smile as he hovered over her and played with her hair.

Annie giggled. “Will you still love me when I’m 46?”

“Keep up the cruel jokes and we’ll see.”

“How about 56?”

He laughed. “Of course I will.”

“76?” She squinted at him.

“Annie, I’ll love you even when you’re 106.”

That seemed to be the right answer because she pulled him down for another, longer, hungrier good luck kiss.


	4. When she was late

They spent the day travelling after visiting Shirley in Atlanta. She wasn’t able to come up for the holidays so they promised to visit her after Christmas. They spent four days with her, and even Britta was able to get time off from work. Though Jeff was reluctant to spend four hours cramped on an airplane, he knew it was worth it. He really missed Shirley and spending time together, even if it was just the four of them, had him missing their time back at Greendale.

It was late in the evening when they arrived back home, so they had a late dinner and retired to the couch to watch TV and relax before bed. Jeff was flipping through the channels while Annie spent a few minutes in the bathroom. She hadn’t been feeling well since they got off the plane.

“Do you want to watch Survivor? Or a Law & Order rerun?” He called to her from the couch.

When she didn’t answer, he settled on the rerun. It wasn’t until Annie slowly walked out of the bathroom minutes later that he noticed she was wearing his sweatshirt and nervous look on her face.

“Hey, you alright? Do you have airsickness or something?” He asked as she took a seat next to him.

“Jeff. I’m late.”

“You’re…?” It was a moment before it dawned on him.

She nodded her head in confirmation and twisted the sleeve of his sweater in her hands.

“You’re late.” He swallowed and turned off the TV. “Are you… do you think?”

Tears filled her eyes and she nodded. “I’m never late.”

When he noticed her watery eyes he immediately went to comfort her. “Hey, come here.” He pulled her in for a hug and held her tightly. “What’s wrong, what are you thinking?”

She sniffed. “It’s just,” her voice broke. “We didn’t plan for this. Not yet. We didn’t talk about it and what if this isn’t what you want‒”

“Hey,” he gently pusher her back so he could look at her. “I never said I didn’t want this,” he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

“Yeah but‒”

“Annie, I want to experience life with you. And even if this next part wasn’t planned, I’m ready. I want this.”

“You do?” She wiped away another tear.

“Of course,” he smiled. “But what about you? Do you want this?”

Her face softened. “Yeah,” she grinned. “I think I do,” she laughed as a few more tears escaped.

Jeff joined her and pulled her in again, this time kissing her cheek until his face was in the crook of her neck. “I love you.”

They didn’t really feeling watching TV anymore.


	5. When she was leaving

She was beautiful. Her skin was still flushed and her hair was a mess but she was lying there playing with his hands and he never wanted to live in a moment more than he did right then. It had been an emotionally draining night.

Abed was leaving.

She was leaving.

It was so unexpected and he never could have prepared himself for the heartache he felt after hearing two of his best friends were leaving Greendale. Leaving him. Which is why he abruptly left the bar and headed to the study room. That table gave him everything, and luckily it brought him Annie that night too.

They talked. And he revealed a lot more than he expected. Which is why Annie was currently lying naked in his bed playing with his hands. It turns out that their kiss goodbye wasn’t the last kiss goodbye. Not for that night at least.

Maybe it was the late hour, or the fact that they just slept together for the first time, but he felt the need to give her more.

“Annie?” He spoke softly as she traced her index finger across his palm.

“Hm?” She met his gaze from across the pillows.

“I uh,” he cleared his throat. “I probably should have told you this back in the study room… Or back in Borchert’s lab… Or any time before that really,” he shook his head at himself.

“Jeff?”

He sighed and looked into her eyes. “I already told you that my heart…it wants what it wants. But it’s more than that.”

“What is it?” She searched his eyes.

He swallowed hard. “I love you, Annie.”

He waited a moment, giving her a chance to object or berate him for screwing with her heart for all of these years. But she didn’t. She didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what that meant so he continued.

Rather than looking at her, he looked at their tangled hands. “Sorry for dropping that on you right now. I should have said it sooner. I don’t expect you to‒”

He was cut off by her lips quickly capturing his. She let go of his hands and hers made their way to his face and they were kissing for what must have been the hundredth time that night. She kissed him relentlessly and his arms wrapped around her body until she was anchored against him. She was leaving in a week but he wasn’t letting her go that night.

When she finally tore herself from his lips, he noticed the furrow in her brow and that her eyes were glossy. Her hands still held onto his face and they were staring at each other once again.

“I love you too,” her voice was barely a whisper. Her thumb traced his cheekbone.

“You do?” Despite everything that happened between them that night, he was still convinced she just needed to get him out of her system.

“Of course I do,” she said with a tearful smile, like it was obvious.

This time it was Jeff who moved in to capture her lips. After a moment he rested his forehead against hers. “I guess we should talk about this.”

“Let’s talk in the morning. Right now I just want to…” She leaned in to kiss him again.

“That sounds like a good plan,” he said softly against her lips.

They spent the next morning talking. And the next week. And the entire summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place before the previous four, but I thought it was a good way to wrap it all up! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. This was an idea that I've thought about for a while, and I finally got a chance to write it! Again, these are just scenarios that I've thought about, they aren't necessarily headcanons. But they can be if you'd like!
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!!


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